1. Field of the invention.
This invention relates to devices for the removal of floating fats and oils from the surface of aqueous food mixtures.
2. Description of the prior art.
In the preparation of aqueous, meat based foods such as soups, broths, boiled dishes, gravies, stews and sauces, lipid substances, primarily fats and oils, are dislodged. These lipid substances have a specific gravity lower than the aqueous solution and will float to the surface. While these substances will usually solidify when chilled, they remain in a liquid phase at normal preparation and serving temperatures and may be generally referred to as liquid lipids. For reasons including health and weight control, it is usually desirable to remove the liquid lipids before consuming the food. Present removal methods include:
Chilling the food to remove the lipids while in a solid state. This is time consuming, costly and inconvenient.
Skimming with a spoon-like utensil. This method is messy, time consuming and only partially effective.
Using gravity type separators. These require that the food be transferred from the cooking utensil and involve considerable cleaning of additional utensils. Their primary disadvantage is an inability to function effectively on foods containing solid ingredients. These devices operate by draining the heavier aqueous components from beneath the floating liquid lipids. Solid ingredients often clog or become trapped by the valve or restricted opening in the device.
Using absorbing devices employing fibrous materials. These are generally inefficient since closely packed fibers tend to absorb and trap aqueous solutions. Widely spaced fibers have very limited capacity and absorbed lipids are easily dislodged by normal manipulation of the device. If designed to be reusable, fibrous materials are extremely difficult to clean thoroughly enough to be sanitary. Fibrous materials exhibit little, if any, ability to lift liquid lipids by capillary action and are therefore ineffective on many foods containing solid ingredients.